Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday that nationwide flight reductions could climb as high as 20 percent if the government shutdown continues, citing air traffic controller shortages that have already led to a phased 10 percent reduction in flights at 40 high-traffic airports that began on Friday.
Speaking at a Breitbart News event, Duffy said the department’s focus remains on safety as unpaid controllers increasingly struggle to report for duty.
“If this continues and I have more controllers who decide they can’t come to work … you might see 10 percent would have been a good number, because we might go to 15 percent or 20 percent,” he said.
Safety Concerns Behind Phased Cuts
Duffy said the decision to scale back flights was driven by data showing a rise in spacing errors and incursions across the national airspace.
“We’re seeing loss of separation in the airspace,” he said. “And then we’ve had more complaints from pilots that have said, ‘Well, the controller is less responsive to me or controllers seem to be more stressed’.”
The secretary added that many controllers, particularly newer hires, have been forced to take second jobs after missing two full paychecks during the shutdown.
The FAA is already operating about 2,000 controllers below target staffing levels, Duffy said, and the shortage has made it more difficult to maintain normal operations.
Duffy Clarifies Comment, Says No Plan for 20 Percent Cuts
Following his remarks, Duffy told The Hill that the 20 percent figure was a theoretical possibility, not a policy under consideration.
“Could it go there? That’s possible. There’s no plan for that,” he said. “I assess the data and how many controllers I have, and I’m just saying we’re going to make decisions based on what we see in the airspace to make sure we keep it safe. I hope it goes the other direction.”
Duffy reiterated that the reductions were not politically motivated.
“This has not been political,” he said. “We have worked overtime to make sure that we minimize the impact on the American people.”
He added that restoring full operations would take time even after the government reopens, as airlines adjust schedules and staffing levels recover.
Lets do 100%.
Shut it down, Duffy!
Looks like someone is hellbent on making sure the American populace suffers for its politicians lack of leadership and management skills
Our air traffic control system has been overworked and understaffed for several years now, as evidenced by all of the incidents and near misses previously reported here.
Personally… I am glad of this reduction in flight volumes, and I wish we had done it a year or two ago. It’s nice to know that we have some resilience and safety margin in the system, instead of operating right at the edge.
I would agree with you but a year or two ago there were more controllers and they were being paid. Right now, some controllers are off sick and others are finding other jobs.
Let’s even the playing field and stop paying congressional salaries for the next several months.
Hmm, you make it sound like he “wants” to shut it down? Why so dense? The absurdity in your analysis is mindnumbingly obtuse. When a certain number of ATC doesnt show up for work, by calling in sick, it eventually becomes a matter of “airspace safety” and air travel would have to be shut down! What part of that common sense do you not understand? Ask Chuck Schumer why the government is shutdown.
Senator Kennedy (LA) is suggesting to do just that…
There is a simple solution to all this: When it gets painful enough for the major airlines, they will all get in line to ‘donate’ a few $mil a piece to whatever grift the administration has going - crypto, bibles, shoes, wine, steaks, universities, ballrooms, golden crowns, whatever - and then the problem will go away. The more you ‘donate’ the faster your part of the issue is solved. Brilliant!
It seems like Duffy is encouraging controllers to call off sick. Why would he do that? Why would he want to make the staffing issues worse?
Sounds good, but that just means normal people can’t afford to serve in Congress. For the vast majority of Congress members, their Congressional salaries are a minor part of their income…
Since you’re bringing politics into it, maybe you can ask the Republicans why they are getting paid to sit home and not do their jobs?
Why are you assuming any of that?
Are you high? Are you suggesting the party who shutdown the government, the Democrats, arent getting paid to keep the government shutdown? Wise up…